1.

The Rich Uncle

Alvin wants a new laptop. His parents are poor though. His mom recently lost
her job. His dad recently quit his job. Alvin knows that he can't ask his
parents for a laptop. He decides to ask his rich uncle Todd. He drives over to
Todd's house. Todd's house is beautiful. It has three stories. There is a
chandelier on the ceiling. There are expensive paintings all over the
place. There are five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Alvin wishes he could
live there.
Todd offers him something to eat. Alvin says, "No, thanks. I already
ate." Todd asks him why he is coming. Alvin does not know what to say. He
does not want to come off as rude. "My laptop is really old, and I need a
laptop for school. I would ask my parents, but they don't have jobs
anymore," Alvin says.
"I understand," Todd says. Todd takes out $800 from his wallet and gives it
to Alvin. Alvin jumps up and down. He has never felt so happy in his entire
life. His mom asks Alvin why he is so happy. Alvin does not say
anything. He doesn't want to make his mom feel bad.
2. College Admissions
It's hard to get into college these days. It used to be a lot easier. Now it's
even not enough to get good grades. You need to have good grades in
advanced classes. You need to do some extracurriculars. Extracurriculars are
activities you do outside of class such as playing basketball, playing the
violin, singing, and more. You need to have a high score on the SAT or
ACT. The SAT and ACT are used to test what you know. They both have
questions on various subjects.
You need to have some leadership positions. It is not just enough to be a
member in a club. You need to be the president or the vice president. You
also need letters of recommendation, letters in which your teachers, coaches,
or bosses write about your abilities and personality. It also helps if you
won some awards. It shows that you can achieve something.
You also have to write good essays that show who you are as a
person. Colleges want people who have interesting personalities and
stories. Students with good grades but boring essays will not get into the
college of their dreams. Students should not be sad if they don't get into the
college of their dreams. They need to know that getting into college is
tougher as years go by.
3. She Has a Unibrow
Marissa was born with a physical imperfection. She has a unibrow. A
unibrow is one long brow. Most people have two eyebrows. People make fun
of her for having a unibrow. A lot of people don't want to be friends with
her. She does have two good friends though. Heather and Joe are Marissa's
best friends. They accept Marissa for who she is.
Heather was approached by the popular kids. The leader of the popular
kids was Amy. Amy offered Heather a spot in her group if she left
Marissa. Heather thought about it. Although she loved Marissa, she always
dreamed of being popular. She told Amy that she had to think about the offer.
Heather told Joe what happened. Joe was mad that Heather had to even think
about it. "You have been friends with Marissa forever," Joe said. Heather
thought about it. She thought about all the times she and Marissa did
homework together, ate together, and laughed together. It wasn't worth it to
give all that up for popularity. She called Amy. "I'm never leaving
Marissa, she's beautiful on the inside." After talking to Amy, Heather asked
Marissa and Joe to hang out.
4. Losing a Loved One
Abby lost her mom yesterday. Her mom got into a car accident. A drunk
driver hit her mom's car. The drunk driver is now in jail. Abby visited the
jail to make him feel bad. "You know what you did, right?" Abby asked. The
drunk driver nodded and said, "I'm sorry." He started crying. "'Sorry' is not
going to bring my mom back. Your carelessness took away my mom."
The drunk driver continued to cry. "I drank, because I was feeling
lonely." Abby was mad and left the jail. She didn't want to see his face ever
again. She wanted him to go to jail for life. Abby could barely wake up. She
requested to take a week off her work. She loved her job, but she could
not stop thinking about her mom.
Abby's husband told her to do something instead of watching TV all
day. Abby agreed with him. It was time for her to start doing
something productive. She wanted to do something that would make her
mom proud. Abby created a program to prevent drunk driving. She wanted to
give drunk people free rides. Abby visited colleges, clubs, and bars all across
the country to encourage people not to drive when drinking.
5. A Cheerleader's Dream
Kelly has been cheering since she was in elementary school. She is now in
her last year of college cheering for her school's sports teams. She plans to
be a professional cheerleader for the Lakers team. That was her dream. Her
parents wanted her to do something more normal, like becoming a nurse or
working at a law firm. Kelly ignored her parents.
Kelly and her teammates were cheering at their last basketball game. When
Kelly stood on top of her teammate's shoulder, she fell down. Everyone was
silent. Her teammates checked up on her and asked if she was okay. Kelly
had to be taken to the hospital. Her leg was permanently injured. "Can I ever
be a professional cheerleader?" she asked. "I'm afraid you cannot," the doctor
said. Kelly felt that life was unfair.
Kelly was scared for the future. All of her friends already knew what they
wanted to do after college. Kelly had to change her plans. She already
canceled her audition with the Lakers cheerleaders. Kelly thought about what
she wanted to do for a career. She still wanted to do something related to
cheer. After some thinking, Kelly wanted to be a coach for high school
cheerleaders.
6. An Undercover Superhero
Kimberly seems like a normal teenage girl. She goes to high school; she has
homework; she has problems with the popular girls; she argues with her
parents. However, Kimberly has a secret power. She has super strength. She
can lift up cars from the ground. She uses her strength to fight crime in her
city. She has even been on the news!
Kimberly hides this secret from everyone except her younger brother and her
parents. She doesn't want people to treat her differently. She feels that people
might give her special treatment because she is a hero. She wants people to
see her for who she truly is. To hide her identity, she wears a mask and green
colored contacts. Her superhero outfit includes a cape and a stretchy purple
suit.
Sometimes Kimberly does want to tell people she is a superhero, like when
she was bullied by the popular girls. She came close to telling them one
time after they destroyed her science project. Kimberly also has a
sidekick who is her best friend. His superhero name is OttoBot, and his real
name is Oliver. His power is his super speed. Oliver goes to the same
school as Kimberly, but he does not keep his identity a secret.
7. A Lucky Jacket
Anna has a lucky jacket. Whenever she wears it, good things happen to
her. She wore it on her final exam one time, and she got the highest grade in
the class! The jacket is green with yellow stripes. It's really smelly, because
Anna never washes it. She is scared that washing the jacket will wash
away the luck. She keeps the jacket in a closet all by itself. No other
clothes are in the closet.
Anna had an important interview for a job. She was very nervous about
it. She wanted to wear the jacket, but the jacket was not appropriate for the
interview. She needed to wear nice clothes. She decided to wear the
jacket under a plain gray sweater. Perfect plan, she thought.
When Anna entered the interview room, she started to sweat. She
wondered why it was so hot. She realized that the heater was on. She sat
down across from the interviewer. "Anna, you're sweating. You should take
your sweater off." Anna laughed nervously. "I'm fine," she said. By the end
of the interview, there was a sweat stain on Anna's sweater. She left the
interview feeling unsure. A week later Anna got a phone call from the
boss. The boss offered her the job! The lucky jacket worked!
8. Phone Invasion
Ten years ago, most adults had regular cell phones. Now people have
smartphones. With smartphones, you can not only call people, but you can
also go online, download new games, calculate a math problem, organize
your schedule, and more. Smartphones are really helpful. Even kids have cell
phones now.
People use their phones a lot these days, especially when they are
waiting. People do not like to be bored, so they go on their phones. A lot of
news reports are saying that people are looking at their phones way too
much. People look at their phones when they are with others, and that is
bad. Being addicted to something is never good.
When you go into a restaurant and look at other customers, most of
them have phones in their hands. They would rather text, play a game, or go
online than talk to the people around them. Some restaurants have even
offered a free meal or a discount if customers are willing not to use their
phones for an entire hour! People also use their phones before they
sleep. This is bad for them, because it makes it harder for them to go to
sleep. The light from the phone tricks our bodies into thinking we need to be
awake.
9. Life in Fear
The terrorist attacks have scared a lot of people from studying abroad. Many
students go to big cities to take pictures, shop, and explore. Terrorists
attack these big cities though, because they know that there will be a lot of
people. The truth is, we should not stop people from studying abroad. These
terrorist attacks can happen anytime. We can't live life in fear. We must do
the things we love.
People are also scared to travel in general, because of plane
accidents. Terrorists often bring explosives on planes. Some people are also
scared of dying on a plane. All the passengers in Malaysia Airlines Flight
370 are missing. We still don't know what happened to them. Not too long
after, all the passengers in Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 died. It was a very
tragic event.
It is scary that our lives can end so quickly and suddenly. We need to live
life to the fullest. We need to love the people around us and be thankful for
every day that we live. There are always news stories about people
dying before they should. It's not the best thing to hear about, but it makes
us more aware of our own lives.
10. Pros and Cons
Brenda has to make an important decision. She got accepted to an
internship in France; she also got a job offer at a hospital. She can only do
one though. She made a list of pros and cons. Pros are the good things while
cons are the bad things.
The internship in France was good, because Brenda always wanted to go to
France. Her plane tickets and living accommodation would be paid for. The
bad thing about the internship was that it had nothing to do with her life
goals. The internship required her to teach French children English. Brenda
was okay with children, but she didn't love them.
One pro of the job offer at the hospital was that it was good for her end
goal. Brenda's end goal was to be a doctor, and the job will teach her a
lot about medical school. One con of the job offer was the location. The
hospital is in a dangerous place where people have to be careful of being
robbed and getting hurt. After a lot of thinking and looking at her list, Brenda
decided to work at the hospital. She knew that working there would be
good for her future.
11. Procrastination
A lot of kids are smart. The thing that stops them from getting an A is
procrastination. Procrastination is putting things off to a later time. An
example of procrastination would be starting a project one day before it is
due. Procrastinating is bad, because it makes a person stressed out. It is also
bad, because the end product is usually not very good.
Since studying is not very fun, students put video games, hanging out with
friends, and eating out before studying. They end up studying the night
before the test and do not get much sleep. This is bad, because eight hours of
sleep or more is needed to do well. Students who procrastinate end up doing
badly on tests. Teachers always encourage students to start early and do a
little bit of studying every day.
Procrastination does not just happen in school, it happens everywhere. People
put off going to the doctor, applying for jobs, and more. Some people say
that procrastination is just human nature. However, some people say that they
do well when they procrastinate. They say that stress makes them work
faster.
12. Not Going to Church
Chris has been going to church every Sunday since he was four years old. His
parents were very religious and wanted Chris to follow in their footsteps. His
dad was a pastor, and his mom was a choir leader. Chris always felt like he
was in the middle. He didn't particularly love or hate Christianity.
Chris learned about other religions in his history class. He learned
about Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and more. After learning about other
religions, Chris wanted to convert to Buddhism. He felt like he could relate to
it better. One Sunday, he told his parents he was not going to church. and
angry. They told him that if he did not go to church, they would take away all
electronics from him. Chris was okay with that. He gave his parents his cell
phone, video game console, and laptop.
When his parents came back from church, they wanted to have a long
conversation with Chris. Chris told them why he didn't want to go to church
anymore. He explained what Buddhism was, and why he wanted to
convert. His parents tried to convince him that Christianity was better. It was
useless. Chris made his decision.
13. Afraid to Cry
Dean was known as the tough guy at school. He always wore tight shirts that
showed off his muscles. He always pushed the skinny kids at school. He
always treated the teachers like they didn't matter. He never did his
homework. He got in a lot of fights. People were afraid of him, and Dean
loved it.
Dean's world turned upside down when his brother passed away. He still
went to class. His English teacher was talking about Shakespeare, whom
Dean's brother admired. Hearing about Shakespeare reminded Dean of his
own brother. His eyes started to water. He didn't want anyone to see him
cry. He got up from his desk. "Dean, you can't get up while I am
teaching," Mr. Chen said.
Everyone stared at Dean. Everyone could see the tears in his eyes. They
laughed at him. Dean ran out of the classroom. Mr. Chen followed him and
sat down with him. "Dean, it's okay to cry. Something tragic happened. Go
ahead and cry." Dean put his head on Mr. Chen's shoulder and cried out
loud. It was the first time he cried in front of someone. It was the first time he
didn't act tough.
14. The Missing Water Bottle
Jared has a green water bottle that he brings to school every day. He loves
it, because it keeps his water cold. It also has a cool robot on it. One day, he
loses it. Jared asks his friend, Richard, if he has seen it. "Yeah, I saw
Albert holding it," Richard says. Jared walks over to Richard's
locker. "Hey, you have my water bottle, right?" Jared asks. "I did, but I let
Denise borrow it," Albert says.
Jared goes up to Denise. "Hey, do you have my water bottle?" Denise shakes
her head and says, "I thought it was cool looking, so I showed Amanda. She
has it now. Jared goes to Amanda. "Amanda, tell me you have my water
bottle." Amanda shakes her head. "I thought it was Lucas', so I gave it to
him. Jared screams in frustration.
Jared goes to Lucas. "Do you have my water bottle?" Jared asks. "I gave it to
Richard to give to you," Lucas says. That was weird since Richard was the
first person he asked about the water bottle. Jared went back to
Richard. "Lucas said you had my water bottle," Jared said. "I told you, I saw
Albert hold it. Lucas probably meant Richard Lopez, not me," Richard
said. "I'm just going to buy a new water bottle," Jared said. He bought a blue
one this time.
15. Addicted to Coffee
Daniel was addicted to coffee. He drank two cups in the morning and three in
the afternoon. He can't think or do anything without coffee. His mom wanted
him to stop drinking coffee. She decided to throw out all the coffee and give
him milk. Daniel was so mad. "Mom, I can't go to school without
coffee," Daniel said. "This is for your own good," his mom said.
Daniel went to school. He was cranky and tired without coffee. He didn't
want to talk to his friends or pay attention in class. His teachers kept waking
him up. They told him to go to the nurse's office. Daniel went to the
nurse and asked for coffee. She laughed at him. She said that he needed to
drink less coffee, but not stop completely. She told him to drink 4 cups a
day, then 3, and eventually he won't need coffee.
Daniel told his mom what the nurse said. "But that means I have to buy
coffee again!" Daniel laughed at his mom. Daniel and his mom went to the
market to buy some good coffee. Daniel did what the nurse told him to do. It
was much easier to drink less coffee than none at all.
16. Letters of Recommendation
Claire was applying to private schools. Most private schools required letters
of recommendation. Claire did not know who to ask. She felt like her
teachers did not know her that well. Claire asked her teachers anyways. Some
of them said yes, and some of them said no. One week later, Ms. Hershey
gave Claire a letter of recommendation in an envelope. Claire wasn't
supposed to open it, but she really wanted to know what Ms. Hershey wrote.
Claire carefully tore it open and read the letter. She was disappointed. Ms.
Hershey didn't write anything interesting about Claire. Ms. Hershey just
wrote that Claire was a smart, nice girl. Claire couldn't get into her top
schools with that letter.
Claire asked her swim coach to write her a letter of recommendation. Her
swim coach knew her well. The problem was that the swim coach wasn't the
best writer. He did not go to college. Claire asked him to write a letter
anyways. "Of course I'll write you a letter, I'll even send it to you," he
said. One week later, Claire got an email from her swim coach. She was
nervous to read what he wrote. Claire was impressed with the letter. Her
swim coach was really funny yet intelligent in the letter!
17. Celebrity Idol
Elliot was a huge fan of the Cooker. The Cooker was a rapper who was
known for his deep voice and super fast rapping. The Cooker's real name was
Theodore Cook. Elliot had tickets to his sold-out concert in San Francisco. It
was the first time he would see him in person. He also had backstage
tickets so he could talk to him.
Elliot drove to San Francisco with some friends to see the Cooker. They
had pretty good seats. They could see his sweat! The Cooker was great
live. His voice sounded the same as it did on the radio. Some singers can't
sing live. The Cooker wasn't one of them. Elliot waved his hands up in the
air. He closed his eyes and listened to the music.
After the concert, Elliot and his friends went backstage. Elliot was so
excited that he screamed when he saw the Cooker. The Cooker closed his
ears. Elliot ran up to him. "I am your biggest fan! Can I have an
autograph and a picture?" Elliot asked. The Cooker rolled his eyes. "Sure, I
guess." Elliot noticed that the Cooker was annoyed. "You know what, forget
it. I don't want a jerk's autograph," Elliot said. He realized that some
celebrities were just mean.
18. The Cool Group Has Money
Jen is poor. Her dad left when she was seven years old. Her mom didn't go to
college, so she can't get any good jobs. Jen wishes she could get a job, but she
is only 13 years old. Jen also wants to be part of the cool group. The cool
group buys expensive clothes, shoes, makeup, and jewelry. Jen always
wear really simple things, like a t-shirt.
One of the girls in the cool group is Jen's cousin. Her name is Dana. Dana
convinced the cool group to invite Jen on a shopping trip. Jen is excited. She
wants to convince them that she is cool enough to be a part of the
group. When Jen sees them, she feels bad about herself. They are all
dressing so much nicer than her. Jen tries to ignore this. She and the cool
group go inside Rural Insiders, the most popular store for
teenagers. Everything is so expensive though.
All of the girls in the group except Jen stand in line to buy something. "Are
you going to get anything, Jen?" asks one of the girls. "Yeah!" Jen says. She
grabs a dress. It is $80! She buys the dress, but she plans to return it.
19. Secret Relationship
Diane and Bobby are dating. Diane's dad does not know that they are
dating. He doesn't want Diane to date until she is in college. It's hard for
Diane to hide her relationship. Every time she wants to go out with him, she
has to tell her dad she is going out with friends. Every time Bobby gives her
presents, Diane has to hide them. Her dad is getting suspicious.
Bobby is upset that Diane is hiding their relationship from her dad. Bobby
feels like Diane is embarrassed to be with him. Bobby wants to meet Diane's
dad. He decides to take matters into his own hands. After school, he goes to
Diane's house. Diane is still at school, because she has violin practice. Bobby
knocks on the door slowly. His hands are shaking.
Diane's dad opens the door. "How can I help you?" Bobby doesn't say
anything for a minute. "Are you going to talk or what?" Diane's dad angrily
asks. "Sir, I am dating your daughter," Bobby says. Diane's dad
frowns. "Break up with her immediately. She's too young to be
dating!" Bobby is sad. He tells Diane that they have to keep lying about their
relationship to her dad. "I know," Diane says.
20. Twins Are Cheating
Annie and Diana are identical twins. It is hard to tell them apart. Sometimes
their best friends even get confused on who is who! One key
difference between the two was their feet. Annie's feet has a mole on it, and
Diana's does not. Annie and Diana sometimes disguise as each other. Annie
pretends to be Diana when Diana doesn't want to take math tests. Diana
pretends to be Annie when Annie has to do the mile run in physical education
class. They have been doing this for years.
Annie and Diana's enemy, Scarlett, finds out what they have been doing. She
tells their math and physical education teachers that they have been cheating
all along. Mr. Thompson, the math teacher, gives them both an F. Ms.
Nguyen, the physical education teacher gives them both an F, too. Annie and
Diana are sad. Annie tries to explain that she gets out of breath easily when
she runs. Diana tries to explain that math gives her anxiety. Mr.
Thompson and Ms. Nguyen don't care.
Annie and Diana no longer pretend to be each other anymore. After they got
Fs, their parents forced them to move schools. The two schools were not that
far apart, so they still got to see each other.
21. The Transformation
Evan was in his last year of middle school. He was 4 feet and 11 inches. He
weighed 140 pounds. He was bald. He had no friends. He had a 0.00
GPA. His life was going nowhere. He was struggling with so much because
his parents recently passed away. He wanted to transform himself though, so
he could have a fresh start in high school.
Evan went to a therapist, who told him that he had to make small changes
first. The therapist told him that he had to start with the easier things. Evan
bought hair growth treatment to fix his baldness problems. He started talking
to people more to make friends. He realized that he just had to express
himself. He started to study more instead of crying about his parents. He
started to eat healthier to lose weight.
When Evan entered high school on the very first day, he was a
totally different person. His classmates could not recognize him. Evan was
now 5'9", muscular, smart, and popular. He also had a head full of
hair. Everyone wanted to be friends with him. Most important of all, Evan
was finally happy.
22. A Female Boxer
Emma's dream was to be a boxer. All her life, she was told that she
couldn't be a boxer because she was a girl. She was told that she should just
get a regular job. Her parents told her that she would be killed one day if she
kept boxing. It was hard to hear "you can't" all the time. Emma was
still determined to prove everyone wrong.
Emma's life was hard. Girls didn't like her, because they thought she was too
manly. Guys didn't like her, because they thought she wasn't as good at
boxing as they were. Because of all this, Emma didn't have any friends at
school. She always sat alone in the cafeteria, and it was hard for her to find
partners for group projects.
However, Emma did have friends from her boxing class. They were
all female boxers. They understood what Emma was going through because
they were in the same position. All they had was each other. They were a
family. Because of this, Emma was always excited for boxing class. One
day, she was going to be a famous boxer. Only then would everyone
regret how they treated her.
23. Mom and Her Daughter
Frances did not get along with her mom, because they had different
personalities and goals. Frances' mom was a CEO of a cell phone
company. She was incredibly smart, having gone to Harvard University. Her
mom cared a lot about money, success, and appearances. Frances was the
opposite.
Frances didn't go to college. She started an art business, selling her original
art pieces. As long as she could feed herself and live somewhere, it was
okay. She also did not mind not being famous. Frances didn't care about her
appearance either. Unlike most girls, she has her hair up to her ears, she never
shaved, and only owned ten pieces of clothing. Frances' mom was upset
that her daughter chose this lifestyle.
Whenever Frances' mom visited her daughter, they would have a
fight. Frances' mom would say some rude comments about Frances'
lifestyle, and Frances would tell her mom that she was greedy and
shallow. Frances wanted her mom to support what she was doing.
Frances was going to get married. She wanted to invite her mom to her
wedding, but she knew that she wouldn't approve of her fiance because he
was exactly like Frances. However, at the end of the day, Frances loved her
mom, so she gave her the wedding invitation.
24. An Interrupted Wedding
Frances and Ryan were getting married. They dated for five years before
Ryan proposed. They were both artists who enjoyed peace and quiet. They
wanted a simple wedding with their closest friends and family. They
decided to have their wedding in the backyard of Ryan's house. Frances did
not want to spend too much money on a dress, so she made her own. Ryan
felt the same way and borrowed his dad's suit. Although their wedding wasn't
perfect, Frances and Ryan loved each other.
The minister asked Frances if she would take Ryan as her husband. Frances
said I do. The minister then asked Ryan if he would take Frances as his
wife. Before he could say yes, someone screamed no. Ryan and
Frances looked to the audience. It was Ryan's ex-girlfriend, Karen.
Ryan demanded her to be taken out. Ryan's brothers carried Karen out, but
Karen bit their arms. She ran up to Frances and ripped her dress. Frances
pushed Karen. Ryan told Karen that she needed to leave. Karen wouldn't
leave until Ryan called the police. Other than Karen interrupting, the wedding
was perfect. Ryan and Frances knew they were going to be together forever.
25. Snoring
Jill and Dan have been married for ten years. Jill loves Dan, but she hates his
snoring. It is so loud and disgusting. Oftentimes, his snoring wakes her
up, and she can't go back to sleep. One night, Dan's snoring was so loud, Jill
decided to sleep on the couch. She slept well on the couch.
The next morning, Jill's son, Timmy, saw her sleeping on the couch. He
thought that she had a fight with his dad. "Mommy, are you and dad getting a
divorce?" Timmy asked. Jill laughed and hugged Timmy. "No Timmy, your
dad just snores a lot!" Timmy asked if she snored. Jill wasn't sure.
Later Jill asked Dan if she snored. "Yeah, it sounds like a cat meowing," Dad
said. "Is that a bad thing?" Jill asked. "Well… it's kind of annoying, but I deal
with it," Dan said.
Jill was embarrassed that she snored. She went to the doctor to see if she
could do anything about it. The doctor gave her a few tips but said that there
was no medicine or cure for snoring. Jill went back home disappointed. "All
this time I thought you were the annoying snorer, but I guess I am, too," Jill
said. "Hey, that's what makes us perfect together!" Dan said.
26. School Mascot
Lisa needed a job to pay for a car. She needed a car so she could get to
school and other places more easily. Lisa saw an ad looking for a school
mascot. It was paying $12 an hour, which was a lot for a high school
student. She went to the try-outs. The interviewer asked Lisa why she wanted
the job, and why she thought she would be a good fit. Lisa said that she was
very proud of being a tiger and would love to get other students excited
about the school's sports teams.
Lisa found out that she got the job! Her first day of work would be at the
football game tonight. When she got to the football field, she put on her
costume and her tiger head. It was smelly and hot inside. She kept thinking
about how she needed a car. Then, she overheard someone say that it would
suck to wear the tiger costume. Lisa felt bad about the job.
Lisa's high school football team won. The crowd got up from their seats and
cheered. A lot of people wanted to take a picture with the tiger. Lisa spent an
hour just taking pictures. After the day was over, Lisa thought about how
much money she made. It was the only thing keeping her going.
27. A Hero
Joy, Samantha, and Maggie were walking around town. The weather was
nice; everyone seemed happy; the girls had each other. Just when
everything seemed perfect, the girls heard a scream. "That man just took my
purse!" an old lady shouted. Joy ran after the man without thinking. She
was a professional track runner, so she was fast. She caught up to him easily.
"Hey, give that bag back!" Joy demanded. The man tried to run away, but
Joy snatched the bag away from him before he could. A police officer saw
the whole thing happening. "I can take it from here," he told Joy. Joy thanked
him. "Next time, don't run after criminals. You might get hurt," he said.
Joy gave the bag back to the old lady. The old lady was so happy and called
Joy a hero. She took out her wallet and gave Joy $50! Samantha and
Maggie were impressed with Joy. “You did a great thing, Joy.” Samantha
said. Joy blushed. She didn’t feel like a hero. The next day, the city
newspaper wanted to do a story and interview with Joy. Joy decided to do
it, because a little part of her wanted to be famous.
28. Life Seems Unfair
They say that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to
bad people. This doesn't always feel true. People who have done great
things die before they should. It makes life seem unfair, and it is
sometimes. People who do bad things get away with
it, sometimes. Eventually, people's deeds catch up to them.
Shawn was a good person. He volunteered every week at the animal
shelter. He was nice to everyone, even strangers. He took care of his
grandparents. Good things should happen to
him, right? Unfortunately, Shawn just found out that he got laid off at
work. This is unfair. However, losing a job when he needed it badly made
him very motivated to look for a new job that paid well. Eventually, he found
a great job as a teacher in China.
Lizzie was a bad person. She stole people's credit card information, yelled at
waiters, and used all her friends. Bad things should happen to
her, right? Well, Lizzie happened to win $200,000 from a lottery. This is
unfair. Justice was served eventually. She was sued for credit card fraud, and
had to use the money she won to hire a lawyer.
29. The Acne Problem
While most teenagers had acne, a condition where one gets a lot of
pimples, Melinda had great skin. Her skin was perfectly smooth with no
flaws whatsoever. She thinks she got her smooth skin from her parents. She
also might have smooth skin because she drinks a lot of water.
Having acne is tough because teenagers care a lot about their appearance and
what other people think of them. Having acne can cause people to feel
bad about themselves, shy away from others, and not go out. Melinda doesn't
have this problem, but her sister, Ivana, does. Ivana didn't understand why
she had acne, because no one in her family had it. Ivana ate fairly healthy,
too. She felt like she was just unlucky. Because of her acne, Ivana felt
insecure about herself. It was hard for her to be confident. She always tried to
avoid attention. She barely talked to anyone.
Ivana decided to try ProActiv because she kept seeing it on TV. It ended
up improving her skin. It was less red and bumpy. Meanwhile, Melinda
got her very first pimple, and it was on the day of her big speech in class! It
was horrible timing. That's the thing about pimples though, they just
appear out of nowhere!
30. A Mystery Man
Ed Kane was a teacher at Middlebury High School. He taught math. He was
known as the "Mystery Man." No one knows anything about him or his
life. Ed wants to keep it that way. He didn't want to be a teacher. He wanted
to be an astronaut, but things didn't work out that way. He came to
Middlebury to teach, not to get to know the students.
Even though he wasn't the happiest or friendliest teacher, Ed was always
willing to help out his students if they needed help, but if they asked about
his personal life, he would turn them away. One of the troublemakers in the
class, Matt, asked Ed what his plans for the weekend were. "I don't
know," Ed said. "Mr. Kane, tell us something about yourself," Matt
asked. "That's enough, Matt!" Ed said.
It wasn't that Ed was embarrassed by his lifestyle, but rather, Ed just thought
that students should focus on math. If he got too friendly with them, they
might think of him as an "easy" teacher. Ed was married, with two kids and
one guinea pig. Ed's hobbies included golfing and swimming. Ed was a very
intelligent man and only had two close friends.
31. Moving Schools
Catherine was moving schools, because she was being bullied at her old
school. She liked the teachers, her classes, and her friends at her old
school, but the bullying was so bad. The girls would call her mean
names, trip her, and embarrass her in front of other classmates. They bullied
her because she was an easy target. Catherine wore a hearing aid as she was
disabled.
Catherine's new school was a private Christian school. She had to wear a
uniform and pray between classes. Catherine was okay with praying, but she
didn't like the uniform. She always liked expressing herself with
clothes. Now, she could only wear the clothes she wanted on the weekends.
Although there were no bullies, her classmates were hard to get along
with. Catherine felt like her personality was so different from theirs. Her
classmates were very studious, quiet, and kind of boring.
32. A New Haircut
Angie was a fashion model. The modeling industry was a tough
world. Although it looks glamorous, it is hard to make it big in the
industry. Angie's agent suggested that she get a new haircut to make her stand
out. Angie currently had long, blonde hair. She did not have a unique
look. Angie didn't want to cut her hair though. She loved it.
Angie and her agent went to a fancy hair salon called Cute Cuts. The hair
stylist was world renowned. "Cut nine inches off and spike up her hair like a
boy's hair," the agent said. Angie was nervous. The hair stylist stroked her
long hair. "Are you ready to be a star?" the hair stylist asked. Angie
slowly nodded her head. She wasn't ready, but it didn't matter.
Angie listened to classical music while the hair stylist cut her hair. She
tried to fall asleep so she wouldn't have to think about her hair. After 45
minutes, the hair stylist removed the hair towel. "Ta da!" she said. Angie
started crying. She thought she looked awful! "You'll feel better once you
book jobs," the agent said. Although Angie didn't like her haircut, she
admitted that it was going to make her stand out.
33. Started From the Bottom
Right now, Eileen is a famous fashion designer. She started from the bottom
though. She was raised by a single mother with five other siblings. There
was barely enough to eat. In fact, there were a lot of days when she just ate an
apple and a slice of bread. Eileen also lived in a bad neighborhood, where
hearing gunshots was normal.
Eileen didn't do well in school either. She had a hard time focusing, and often
fell asleep while her teachers were talking. It was hard to think about George
Washington or the scientific theory when you had personal
problems. Because she didn't do well in school and she needed money, Eileen
didn't go to college. She immediately worked at a clothing store as a cashier.
Eileen would sketch designs during her break time. One lucky day, the
owner at the time saw her designs and was impressed. He offered Eileen a
position as a designer. Eileen worked for her boss for five years before
starting her own company called Bottomless. There are now Bottomless
stores in over 100 countries! Eileen has been on many talk shows speaking
about her rise to success.
34. No Vote, No Opinion
In the United States, you can pretty much vote for who you want to be
President if you are 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen. People don't
realize how great this is. In some countries, power is passed on to
relatives, and the people don't get a say in who the leader of the
country should be. However, a lot of people in the United States, especially
young people, do not vote.
There are many reasons why people don't vote. Firstly, they don't
believe their vote matters. The truth is, everyone's vote
matters! Secondly, they don't think that anything will change if they
vote. Although, it's hard to see big changes right away, the presidential
candidate you vote for affects many policies. Thirdly, people are lazy to go
out of their house to vote. This is the worst excuse.
People need to realize that voting is a privilege. Imagine if we couldn't
vote. We would feel out of the loop. We would feel that our opinion doesn't
matter. If you don't vote for a candidate, then you have no right to complain
about the president who will be elected.
35. The Addiction
Yvonne is addicted to biting her nails. She doesn't know how it started. She
has been biting her nails since she was four years old. She bites her
nails when she is not doing anything with her hands; she bites her nails when
listening to her professor or waiting in line. People around her are grossed
out by her habit, but Yvonne can't help it.
Her addiction is getting worse. Yvonne now has an infection on the tips of
her fingers. Her fingernails are also yellow. When Yvonne noticed all
this, she realized that she needed to make a big change. Yvonne decided to
paint her nails to stop herself from biting them since she doesn't want to
bite on the nail polish.
Yvonne was in class listening to a boring lecture, which made her want to
bite her nails. She looked at her blue nails and stopped herself. Ten minutes
later, she looked at her nails again. She started sweating and tapping her
foot. The girl sitting next to her asked if she was okay. Yvonne couldn't take
it anymore. She just had to bite her nails again.
36. Writing an Essay
Bradley was a typical "cool" guy. He was the captain of the football
team dating the head cheerleader. He was rich, tall, and good-looking. He
was also the president of his high school. Bradley had one problem. It was his
grade in English. He couldn't write an essay to save his life. He had
trouble coming up with ideas.
Bradley's final English paper was supposed to be about his role model. He
wanted to write about his football coach. Bradley knew he couldn't do
well by himself, so he hired the smartest student in class to help him. He was
going to pay Melody $10 an hour. Bradley invited Melody to his house.
"Okay Bradley, start with an interesting sentence that's going to grab the
reader's attention." "How about 'Soccer is called football in most
countries'?" Bradley suggested. "But that has nothing to do with your
topic," Melody said. Bradley felt bad. "Hey, don't feel bad. Coming up with
hooks can be challenging. Why don't you use a quote that your coach
said?" Melody suggested. Bradley thought that was a good idea. His hook
was "Football is an art, not a game."
37. Eyebrow Waxing
Clara always thought her eyebrows were too bushy. Having good
eyebrows was becoming a very popular trend among girls. Clara's
friend, Rachel, offered to take her to a salon to wax her eyebrows. Clara
didn't like that idea. She didn't want a stranger to be so close to her
face. Rachel offered to give Clara waxing products so she can fix her
eyebrows herself. Clara said okay.
Clara went over to Rachel's house to get the eyebrow waxing material. She
then went to Rachel's bathroom. Clara was nervous. What if she did it
wrong? She slowly spread the wax on her eyebrows. A couple minutes
later, she pulled the wax off. "Ouch!" Clara yelled.
Clara looked in the mirror. Her eyebrows were gone! She had
accidentally pulled off too much of it. She screamed. Rachel went in the
bathroom to check on her. "I heard screaming, what's wrong?" Rachel
asked. Clara turned around and pointed at her face. Rachel tried to hide her
laugh. "It's not funny," Clara said. "Well it kinda is, because you were
worried that you had too much hair before, and now you have none," Rachel
said.

38. A Yes-Man
Paul tried hard to please everyone and had a hard time saying no to
anything. When people asked him to do exciting things, Paul said yes, so
people would think he's a fun guy. He also said yes to exciting things because
he thought life was too short to not try new things. When people asked him to
do favors for them, Paul said yes because he wanted people to like him.
His agreement to everything was a big problem when he was busy with
homework, chores, or any other personal commitments. One time he had a
test that was worth 50% of his final grade, and the day before it, he
decided to go skydiving with his neighbor. Skydiving took about five
hours, and Paul couldn't get home until 11 p.m. By then he was tired and
found it hard to focus on studying.
Another time Paul's friend asked if he could turn in her paper for her at 3
p.m. Paul had to be at his soccer game at 3:10 p.m. Any other person would
have said no, but not Paul. Paul turned in the paper for his friend, ran to the
gym to change, and then arrived at the soccer game 10 minutes late.
39. Christmas Spirit
Kenneth and Leslie raised their kids to have Christmas spirit. They do all the
Christmas traditions, everything from decorating the house with lights to
putting a star on top of the Christmas tree. The kids even think that Santa
Claus is real. This all changed when Kenneth and Leslie's son, Thomas, saw
Kenneth put a bunch of Christmas presents under the Christmas tree late at
night.
Thomas gasped. He was upset that his parents lied to him. "Mom, dad, why
didn't Santa come this year? I saw you two putting gifts under the tree," he
said. Kenneth and Leslie looked at each other with worries. "Well, son, the
truth is, Santa didn't have time to put them under the tree, so he gave them to
me and your mom," Kenneth said. Leslie was impressed with her husband's
ability to come up with a lie so quickly.
"You know, a lot of kids at school say that Santa isn't real," Thomas
said. "Well they're lying, honey. They just want to make you feel bad," Leslie
said. "Really? Well, can you prove it by bringing me to Santa
Claus?" Thomas asked. "Well, we can bring him to you," Kenneth said. An
hour later, Kenneth entered the house in a Santa Claus costume.
40. Valentine's Hater
Linda loved her husband Tom, but she hated Valentine's Day. She thought it
was lame and pointless. She thought it was dumb that couples
acted especially nice to each other on Valentine's. She believed that lovers
should treat every day like Valentine's Day.
Tom had flowers delivered to Linda's work place on Valentine's Day. When
she saw them on her desk, she rolled her eyes. Tom knew she hated
Valentine's Day. She also thought that flowers were a waste of money. They
died so quickly. She could never understand why anyone would pay over
$30 for a bouquet of flowers.
When Linda got home after work, she asked Tom why he sent her flowers. "I
know you hate Valentine's, but I saw my friend play the piano in front of his
wife for Valentine's, so I wanted to do something special," Tom said. Linda
smiled. Even though she hated Valentine's, she felt loved by her husband.
41. A Foreign Accent
Ying moved to the U.S. when she was 15 years old. She was born in
China, and had a Chinese accent when she spoke. She didn't like her
accent, because it made her sound funny, and people sometimes couldn't
understand what she said. Ying also knew that people made fun of her accent.
Ying's history teacher made everyone go up in front of the class and recite a
part of the Constitution of the United States. Ying didn't want to do it. She
asked her teacher if she could record herself and send it to him. The teacher
said no because that would be unfair to everyone else. Ying then said that it
was unfair that everyone had an American accent. The teacher told her to
take classes to get rid of her Chinese accent.
Ying took her history teacher's advice and took a class on getting rid of the
foreign accent. The class was filled with people like Ying. The teacher
had Ying and the other students pronounce things. After a week, Ying didn't
see an improvement. She decided to stop going to class and start loving her
accent. She shouldn't have to change herself. People should like her the way
she is.
42. The Career Day
The Career Day was the time when parents of students came into the
classroom to talk about their jobs. Jane brought her dad, who was a bus
driver. Jane's dad did not like his job when he was first starting out. After five
years, he liked it. He liked it because he got to talk to
people. Sometimes, though, no one wanted to talk to him. Those days were
bad.
Jane's dad talked about what he had to do as a bus driver in front of Jane's
classmates. "Anyone interested in becoming a bus driver?" Jane's dad
asked. No one raised their hand. The next parent going up was Julia's
dad. Julia's dad was a firefighter. He dressed up in his firefighter uniform. He
talked about his experiences and the crazy fires he had to put out in the past.
The students loved Julia's dad. They asked him a ton of questions, and
someone even hugged him. Jane's dad felt bad. He left the classroom before
the day ended. Jane's teacher ran out of the room to talk to him. "Mr.
Lowell, I just wanted to tell you that I have so much respect for what you
do." Jane's dad smiled.
43. Bad Guy Gone Good
Donald is getting out of jail today after five years. He was in jail for hurting a
convenience store manager. Donald had stolen food from the convenience
store, and the manager ran after him. Donald punched the manager and ran
away with the food. Shortly after, the police got him.
While Donald was in jail, he promised that he would change his life around if
he got out of jail. He saw some scary stuff while he was in jail. Jail was a
whole other world. It was almost like high school but worse. There were
cliques, where the tough guys tried to scare everyone. Donald tried to stay
away from trouble.
When Donald got out of jail, he smelled the fresh air. It felt great being
out. He went to the convenience store he stole from. The manager saw
him immediately. Donald assured him that he didn't want to hurt him. "I want
to apologize for what I did. I stole food, because I was homeless. I'm not
trying to make excuses for how I hurt you, though." Donald gave the
manager an envelope with $1,000 inside. "I know it doesn't make up for
everything, but I was saving up this money for five years in jail," Donald
said. The manager gave him a hug.
44. Taking Revenge
Hannah was a good girl. She went to school on time; she did well in
class; she was nice to everyone; she played soccer; she volunteered at the
homeless shelter once a week. Hannah was about to go bad
though. Yesterday, someone robbed her house. She felt sad that bad things
could happen to her even though she never did anything wrong.
Hannah decided to take revenge. Through her neighbor, she found out who
robbed her. It was someone who lived just three streets down. At
night, Hannah dressed in black and wore a mask. She was going to take
back what the robber took and more. She wanted him to feel what she and her
family felt.
Hannah unlocked the door with a paperclip and went inside the house. She
saw her belongings near the fireplace. She grabbed the belongings and put
them inside a big, black bag. She also stole some money, although it wasn't a
lot. She realized that there wasn't anything worth stealing, so she spray
painted the walls.
45. Fireball Wings
Lillian loves spicy food. She has a high tolerance for it, which means that she
can eat a lot of it without suffering. Sometimes, she even adds more chili to
spicy food! Lillian and her friends decide to try the Fireball Wings at a
popular chicken wing place in their town. The Fireball Wings were supposed
to be so spicy that you could still feel the burn after one hour of eating a bite.
Lillian and her friends had to sign a waiver to eat the wings so that they
couldn't sue the business if they had any health problems after eating the
wings. Lillian was excited. Finally the plate of wings came in, and everyone
could smell the chilli. One of her friends sneezed because the smell was so
strong.
Lillian took the first bite. It was hot! She started panting and breathing
heavily. She drank some water, but it was still hot. Her friends ordered some
milk for her. Milk is supposed to be good for dealing with spicy food. Lillian
drank two glasses of milk, but her mouth was still burning. Her friends
decided not to eat the wings, because if Lillian couldn't handle it, then they
surely wouldn't!
46. Friends Betrayal
Benjamin and Kyle are best friends. They met when they were 10 years
old. They were both in the same swim class. They became the fastest
swimmers in their class. They joined the swim team at their high
school. Even though they were great swimmers, Benjamin and Kyle had
different personalities. Benjamin was book smart. He had straight A's in all
his classes, even the advanced ones. Kyle was street smart. He knew how to
get what he wanted.
Benjamin and Kyle both wanted to be the swim team captain. However, there
can only be one. Whoever got the most votes would be the next captain. Kyle
was worried, because he knew that Benjamin was more popular than him. A
lot of the other team members thought Kyle was a bit mean. Kyle had a plan
though. The next day, he gathered up all the swim team members except
Benjamin to meet him at the pool.
"Hey guys, I know you want to vote for Benjamin, and I think he's a great
guy. The thing is, he would be a terrible captain. He always puts school
first. He would rather study for a test than practice his breast strokes. I love
swim and would put everything I have into this team." Kyle knew what he
did was bad, but he wanted to be captain so badly that he did not care.
47. The Election Speech
Benjamin walked out of the locker room after swim practice. One of his team
members, Aaron, wanted to talk to him. "Ben, there's something you have to
know," Aaron said. "What is it?" Benjamin asked. "Kyle said you would be a
terrible captain to the entire swim team!" Aaron said.
Benjamin went back home depressed. He didn't think that Kyle would betray
him. Tomorrow would be the swim captain election. Benjamin didn't have
time to worry about Kyle. He had to prepare his speech. The next
day, Benjamin and Kyle stood in front of the swim team. Kyle went
first. "Hello fellow team members! I want to be your next swim
captain, because there is nothing I care more about than swim. I will put 110
percent into every practice we have and every competition we enter. We're
going to be winners if you vote for me."
Benjamin was up next. "Hi all. I should be the next captain, because I want
to make this team stronger. It's important that we all work together and be
friends with each other. We need to support each other whether we win or
lose. I will make this team a family. By being a family, we will be more
motivated to do our best."
48. The Vote for Swim captain
Benjamin and Kyle had just made their speeches to be swim
captain. "Alright, all those who want Kyle as your captain raise your
hand," the swim coach said. Five people raised their hands. "All those for
Benjamin, raise your hand," the swim coach said. Thirty people raised their
hands. Everyone congratulated Benjamin and chanted his name. Kyle was
upset and left school early.
Benjamin went to Kyle's house after school. He knocked on Kyle's
door. Kyle opened it. "Hey man, what's up?" Kyle said. "Were you ever
going to tell me that you said I'd be a terrible captain to the whole swim
team?" Benjamin angrily asked. Kyle did not know that Benjamin found
out about the betrayal. "I'm sorry, man. I wanted to be the captain so
badly." "I thought we were best friends. How could you do that?" Benjamin
asked. Kyle shook his head in shame. "The truth is, I was jealous of
you. You're a great swimmer, you're the smartest one in our class, and
everyone likes you."
"Kyle, you're pretty great, too. Girls like you, your swim technique is
amazing, and you know how to get what you want," Benjamin said. "Can you
forgive me? I'm really sorry." Kyle said. "Yeah, but let's talk about it over
dinner. I'm starving!" Benjamin said. Kyle and Benjamin went to a
restaurant they had been going to since they were 10 years old.
49. Mary and Natasha
Mary and Natasha both like Kyle. They both want to go to the homecoming
dance with him. Mary got to him first. "Hey Kyle, want to go to homecoming
with me?" "Oh gosh. I'm actually asking someone else later today," Kyle
said. Mary was furious. How could he say no to her? "Who are you
asking?" Mary asked. "Natasha," he said.
Mary had to do something. She couldn't let Natasha take Kyle away from
her. Mary walked over to Benjamin, Kyle's best friend. "Hey Benjamin, you
should ask Natasha to the homecoming dance." "Really? I don't think she
likes me," he said. "She told me she likes you," Mary said. "Okay, I will ask
her out! Thanks for telling me!" Benjamin said.
Benjamin went up to Natasha during lunch with roses. "Natasha, will you go
to the homecoming dance with me?" Benjamin asked. Natasha didn't want to
go with Benjamin, but everyone was staring at them. She didn't want
to embarrass him by saying no. "Yes, I'll go with you," she said.
50. The Homecoming Dance
Kyle and Benjamin were hanging out after school. "So I'm going to the
dance with Natasha," Benjamin excitingly said. "What?! I was going to ask
her out later today!" Kyle said. "What?! Well, it's too late. She already
said yes to me," Benjamin said. Kyle was sad. He decided to ask Mary to the
dance instead. It was better for him to ask someone than no one at all.
At the dance, there were a DJ, a disco ball, food, the school mascot, and
pretty decorations. Everyone was having a good time, except
Benjamin, Kyle, Mary, and Natasha. Benjamin and Natasha barely spoke to
each other. Natasha kept thinking about Kyle, and Benjamin thought Natasha
was way too quiet. Kyle kept thinking about Natasha, and Mary was mad that
Kyle wasn't paying attention to her.
"Give me a second, I'm going to see how Ben is doing," Kyle said to
Mary. Kyle walked over to Benjamin. "Hey where's Natasha?" Kyle
asked. "She's in the bathroom," Benjamin said. "None of us are happy right
now. Why don't we switch dates?" Kyle suggested. "That would leave me
and Mary unhappy," Ben said. Kyle sighed. He knew Ben was right. The
homecoming dance was just going to be a bad night.
51. Textbooks
Textbooks are really expensive. It is funny, because nobody wants
them. Students just have to buy them because teachers want them to. Mr. Tan
teaches an economics class, and he usually makes them buy a $200
textbook. Last year, though, one of his students tried to steal a textbook. That
student got suspended. The sad thing is, the student stole the
textbook because he could not afford it. Mr. Tan decided to change some
things around.
Instead of making his students buy the textbook, Mr. Tan made copies of the
textbook and gave them to the students. This is technically illegal. Another
teacher found out about what Mr. Tan was doing and told the principal. The
principal gave Mr. Tan a warning. Mr. Tan had to come up with another
idea that was legal.
Mr. Tan decided to use online articles that were available for everyone to
access. The students liked this idea, because they did not have to buy a
textbook. The principal liked this idea, because it was legal. Mr. Tan liked the
idea, because he felt that the articles taught a lot of interesting
information. Mr. Tan won Teacher of the Year award. He was respected for
caring about his students' financial situation.
52. Class Enrollment Times
In college, everyone has different class enrollment times. Some people have
early times and some people have late times. The more classes you have
taken, the earlier your registration time is. That is why seniors have early
registration times. All student athletes, students on scholarships, and low-
income students have early registration times.
A lot of students complain about their registration times. Having a late
registration time means not getting the classes you want. Not getting the
classes you want means not being able to graduate on time. This is a big
problem in public schools. Every semester, there are a ton of students who
line up to complain about their registration times. Academic counselors tell
the students the same thing every time: "We can't do anything about it."
Parents complain about it, too. The academic counselors tell them the same
thing. One of the parents who complained was a lawyer. She tried to sue the
school. It did not work. Students also protested that athletes should not
have earlier registration times. The academic counselors say, "We don't make
up the rules."
53. Stage Fright
Stage fright is the nervousness one feels when speaking in front of an
audience. It is extremely common. Mr. Todd tries to eliminate stage fright in
his speech class. In the class, everyone is required to do five speeches in front
of the class. The first speech is about the student. The students typically talk
about their likes, dislikes, family, friends, hobbies, and future goals. Since it
is the first speech, a lot of students are nervous. They want to make a good
first impression on everyone. Mr. Todd told them to think of the audience as
their friends.
The second speech is supposed to persuade the audience to support a
particular cause. One student talked about abortion. Another student talked
about Donald Trump. For this speech, Mr. Todd advised them to make
connections with the audience. People are more likely to support your
cause if you make it relatable to them.
For the third speech, the student is supposed to try to convince the
audience to visit a particular country. By the third speech, the students
were much more confident. It was easier for them to talk in front of their
classmates. The students felt like they were all friends with each other. Even
if they made a mistake, it was okay.
54. The One Who Stayed Behind
Darcy was in her 6th year of college. Most people go to college for four
years and then graduate. Darcy was different. She did not plan well. In her
first year, she was so excited to be away from her parents. She went out
late every night. She drank too much alcohol. She made friends with the bad
crowd. She skipped her classes. She had to retake a lot of classes.
In her second year, Darcy started to get her act together. She stopped going
out so late. She became friends with people who studied. She went to
class and studied. However, Darcy wanted to change her major from
chemistry to political science. The chemistry classes she took were useless
now. She had to take political science classes she should have taken in her
first year.
In her third year, Darcy took more classes than the average student. It was
very stressful. She was in class from 7 a.m.- 6 p.m. She felt like she could not
think in any of her classes. She was not getting much sleep. She talked to a
guidance counselor, who told her that she should drop two classes. The
counselor also said that it was better to get good grades and stay longer in
college than to get bad grades and graduate on time. Darcy dropped two
classes and had to stay in college for two extra years.
55. Flip Flop Danger
There are a lot of rules on what students can and cannot wear. Girls can't
show bra straps, wear shorts that are too short, wear tank tops, nor can they
wear body jewelry. Guys can't show their boxers or wear pants that are too
baggy. Both girls and guys cannot wear open-toed shoes, including flip
flops. The students are sad, because flip flops are comfortable and easy to
wear. Flip flops are also great when it's really hot.
One sunny August, Sebastian decided to break the rules and wear flip flops to
school. He felt cool that he was breaking the rules. His friend, Brett, looked
at him in horror. "Dude, you're going to get in trouble!" Brett said. Sebastian
laughed. "They won't even notice!" he said. Sebastian was right. Class after
class, teachers failed to notice that Sebastian was wearing open-toed shoes.
After the last class bell rang, Sebastian and his classmates walked out. When
he walked outside, Sebastian tripped over a rock. His toes started to bleed and
his foot was bruised. He couldn't even get up! Brett called the nurse over. The
situation was too serious for the nurse to handle. The nurse had to call the
hospital. Sebastian never wore flip flops again.
56. Most Likeable Girl
Mabel was the most likeable girl in school. Teachers loved her because she
was a good student who always had something to say. Boys loved
her because she was so beautiful. Girls loved her because she was nice and
always helped them. Her siblings loved her because she was caring. Mabel
just had a good impression on everyone.
One day, a robber came to her house, stole all her money, and punched
her when she tried to stop him. Mabel was devastated after that incident. She
felt upset that someone would hurt her when she was a good person. When
she returned to school, it was hard for her to talk to people. She
started spacing out in class, sitting alone during lunch, and wearing the same
clothes every day.
Mabel's friends were worried about her. They decided to go to her house to
talk to her parents. Her friends explained how Mabel was acting differently in
school. Mabel's parents had no idea. They talked to Mabel and told her
that the robbery had nothing to do with her. Robbers just rob houses that they
feel are the easiest to break into. Mabel's parents gave her a hug.
57. Soccer Tryouts
Howard was never the athletic type. In fact, he was always the fat kid. People
made fun of him for his size. Howard wanted to change that. He wanted to
be more healthy. He wanted to get into sports. He saw a flyer for soccer
tryouts. Howard never played soccer, but he watched it on TV. Howard had
one week to get ready before tryouts.
He watched soccer games on his TV for two hours. He bought a soccer
ball and kicked it around at home and at the park. He bought the book How to
Play Soccer. He asked his dad to play with him, too. Howard felt like he
was a great soccer player! He was ready! He went to tryouts. There were at
least fifty boys trying out. Howard got nervous. They all looked like they
knew what they were doing. They could bounce the ball on their
heads, juggle the ball with their knees, and kick the ball far.
The coach set up a game for the boys to play. Howard was on the "red"
team. Someone passed the ball to Howard. Howard stopped in the middle of
the field. "What are you doing, man?" his teammate asked. Howard took a
deep breath and told himself he could do it. Howard got his head back into
the game. He caught the ball with his foot and made a goal. He couldn't
believe it; no one could. Howard made the team.
58. Trouble with the Captain
Howard was the fat kid, but against all odds, he surprisingly made the soccer
team. His family celebrated. They were happy that he was being active, and
they wanted him to make new friends. Howard was happy, too.
On his first day of practice, the coach made a short
speech. "Congratulations on making it to the team. You have a tradition to
keep. Our team is the best high school soccer team in northern
Mississippi. Practice is going to be rough, but it's going to be worth
it. Practice is two hours a day, every day, including Saturday and
Sunday." Howard started to sweat. Was he ready for intense exercise every
day?
The team captain was the next to make a speech. "Coach is right, you guys
all have to keep up. Keep up or go home." First, the team did warm-
ups, which included stretching, running, bouncing the ball with their
knees, and more. Howard was having trouble, especially with running. After
the warm-ups, the boys played a game. Howard was already very tired. The
captain pulled him aside and said, "I don't know how you made the
team. You got lucky." Howard ignored what he said and continued to do the
best he could.
59. Strengths and Weaknesses
Howard had recently made the soccer team. However, he has been having
trouble with the captain and keeping up with his teammates. Howard wasn't
in shape as the rest of the guys. He also couldn't do a lot of things that the
guys did. Howard knew that the only reason he made the team was
because he made a goal during tryouts. The goal he made was lucky
though. The coach quickly realized this after the first week of practice.
The coach set up a meeting to talk to Howard. "Do you know what this is
about?" the coach asked. Howard nodded. "Your performance has not been
so good compared to the others. It also seems like you're having a lot of
trouble," the coach said. "Yeah, I didn't grow up playing soccer," Howard
said. "You're going to have a lot of trouble if you stay on the team. If you
still want to play, I think you should take classes and try out again next
year." Howard sighed. He knew the coach was right, but he was still sad.
Howard cried. The coach put his arm around him. "Everyone has strengths
and weaknesses. Soccer is not your strength, but you are probably good at
something else. My strength is playing soccer, but my weakness is playing
instruments," the coach said. Howard felt a lot better after hearing him say
that. Howard knew that he had strengths, he just had to find out what they
were.
60. A Homeless Man's Past
Ricky is homeless. He sleeps under a shady, big tree at the park every
night. In the morning, he walks around the park and sometimes goes on the
playground. He likes going on the swings, closing his eyes, and thinking
about the past. His past was great. He grew up in a wealthy family. Both of
his parents were doctors. Ricky went to a good school, had lots of
friends, and was on his way to be a doctor. Everything was perfect. Then, his
parents got sued by a patient. His parents lost the case and owed the
patient millions of dollars.
Ricky and his family had to sell their house and move to a much smaller
house. Ricky also had to move schools. Ricky's parents had a very hard
time adjusting. His dad got a heart attack after one year of living in the small
house. His mom had a hard time without his dad and died from stress. Ricky
had to support himself. He quit school and worked at a grocery store. He
eventually quit, because he thought he was too good for his job. Ricky
decided he would rather be homeless than work at a job he hated.
Ricky had gotten used to being homeless. He has been homeless for five
years, and he is now 23 years old. He talks to people at the park and has good
conversations. He gets food from the trash can. He doesn't mind. Ricky is
homeless but happy.
61. Meeting Her Boyfriend's Parents
Margaret was going to meet her boyfriend's parents for the first time. She was
worried that they wouldn't like her because she was poor. They probably
thought she was with him for his money. She wasn't. She was with
him because he was kind and funny. Margaret had to look her best. She put
on her nicest dress, heels, and diamond earrings. Margaret's boyfriend,
Jimmy, picked her up. "You'll be fine," he said.
When she saw Jimmy's parents' house, she gasped. It was huge! There
were two security guards at the two ends of the gate. They typed in the
code and the gate opened. When they got to the front door, the
servant opened the door for them. Margaret and Jimmy went into the living
room to find Jimmy's parents drinking expensive wine. It was the kind of
wine that was $100 a bottle. "Mom. Dad. This is Margaret," Jimmy
said. Jimmy's mom looked at Margaret from top to bottom and
frowned. Jimmy's dad did the same. Margaret was not off to a good start.
The four of them sat at the dining table. Nobody said anything for ten
minutes. Margaret broke the silence and said, "This is delicious!" "Of course
it is, it's probably the most expensive thing you ever ate," Jimmy's mom
said. "Mom, that was really mean," Jimmy said. "I'm just saying the
truth, son." Margaret and Jimmy left after dinner. Margaret swore she would
never see his parents again.
62. Being Home Alone
For the first time ever, Gabby was going to be home alone. Her parents and
little brother were going on a one-week trip to Hawaii. Gabby didn't want
to miss out on school, so she said she would stay at home. It was going to be
great. She could stay up late as she wanted to, invite people over, and sing as
loud as she wanted to.
She invited her friends, William and Agatha, to her house after
school. "Wow, it is so cool to have the whole house to yourself. Your parents
must really trust you!" Angela said. Gabby's parents trusted Gabby because
she always told the truth and did the right thing. "You should throw a
party," William suggested. Gabby and Agatha gasped. "Didn't you hear what
I just said?!" Agatha said. "I heard you. I just think Gabby should do the
wrong thing for once and not be boring," William said. Gabby did
think about it. People at school did think she was a goody two-shoes, and her
parents probably wouldn't find out. "Okay! I'll do it!" Gabby exclaimed.
Gabby invited the whole 11th grade class to her house on Friday. A lot of
people came and the house was packed. It seemed like everyone was having a
good time. People really liked the food and the music at the
party. Eventually, however, the party got too crazy. People started yelling at
each other, things broke, and neighbors complained.
All of a sudden, the door opened. It was Gabby's parents. "Mom, Dad, aren't
you supposed to be here tomorrow?" Gabby asked. "We were, but we came
here to surprise you with a gift," her dad said. Gabby felt guilty.
63. The Best Donut on Earth
Ginny was obsessed with donuts. She had her first donut when she was five
years old. It was from a gas station. Ginny was crying, and her dad was trying
to get her to be quiet. He gave her a donut, and Ginny immediately stopped
crying.
Ginny has tried twenty different donut shops and hundreds of different
flavors. Some of her favorite donut flavors included chocolate, banana, and
regular glazed. Her friend, Rebecca, knows how much she likes donuts, so
she recommended her a place. "It's called Dough Nutty. It's known to be the
best donut on earth!" Rebecca said. "What's so good about it?" Ginny
asked. "They're really fresh, and they use a type of sugar that is good for
you!" Rebecca said. Ginny was going to check the shop out.
Dough Nutty was an hour away from Ginny's house. Her brother made fun of
her for driving so far just to eat donuts. When Ginny and Rebecca got
there, the store was closed! The girls felt so frustrated. They decided to get
donuts at the gas station nearby. It was not the best, but it was still pretty
good.
64. A Terrible Teacher
Ms. Robins was known around the school as the meanest teacher ever. She
gave hard tests, made fun of students, and wouldn't let the students have any
fun whatsoever. Why was Ms. Robins so terrible? Well, she never wanted to
be a teacher. She grew up wanting to be an actress. She was pretty good at
it. She even had her own TV show once. The TV show did not do so
well, and it ended after a year. Ms. Robins struggled to find a job after that.
Ms. Robins only got her job as a teacher because she knew the principal of
the school. They were best friends from high school. Ms. Robins taught
history. Her students were all afraid of her. One of the students,
Cassidy, raised her hand to ask a question. "Ms. Robins, how long should our
essay be?" Ms. Robins stared at her coldly and said, "I hate repeating
myself. Ask your classmate."
Ms. Robins was called into the principal's office. "What's up?" she
asked. "There have been some concerns over your behavior," the principal
said. "I know where this is going," Ms. Robins said. "Do you? Well, it has to
change. I know you don't want to be here, but you can't get paid if all your
students want you gone," the principal said. Ms. Robins was more
careful since her meeting with the principal.
65. Taking a Break
Martin and Kylie have been in a relationship for four years. They have
already said "I loved you," met each other's parents, and talked about
marriage. Their friends and family are just waiting for Martin to propose to
Kylie. However, they don't know that Martin has been having second
thoughts about his relationship with Kylie.
Martin asked Kylie to go out to dinner with him. "So, this is going to be hard
to hear," Martin said. "What happened? Did someone die?" Kylie
asked. Kylie had no idea what was coming next. "I want to take a break from
us," Martin said. "What do you mean?!" Kylie asked. "I still love you. I just
need some time to myself. I want to travel by myself," Martin said. "For how
long?" Kylie asked. "Maybe a year," Martin said. "I'm not going to wait
around, so we're over," Kylie said.
Martin was sad at first, but as he was traveling across the world, he didn't
feel too sad anymore. He first went up to Canada. He really liked the donuts
there. He then went to Ireland. He really liked how green it was. He
then went to Italy. He really liked the buildings and houses there. Next, he
went to Vietnam. He really liked the people there. After one year, he came
back to the United States. He asked how Kylie was doing. They went out
again to catch up. They got back together. It was clear that they still loved
each other.
66. Vegetarian Family
Myron was a meat lover and Nick was a veggie lover. Not only is Nick a
veggie lover, but he is a vegetarian. It makes things hard for Myron and
Nick's parents to prepare meals for them. The parents liked meat, but when
they make something like chicken, they have to prepare something different
for Nick. It was extra work.
The family was recently invited to a friend's barbeque party. Nick didn't want
to go, because he knew that everyone would ask why he wasn't eating
meat. "Honey, just come. There will be mashed potatoes and corn," his mom
said. "I know Mom, but I just don't want to explain to everyone why I'm a
vegetarian," Nick said. "Everyone there wants to see how you're doing," his
mom said.
"You know what, Nick? Why don't we all become vegetarians for this whole
month?" We can all explain together why we're vegetarians. It'll be
healthier for us, too!" his dad said. Nick appreciated his dad's
suggestion. "That's too hard for me," Myron said. "Well Myron, it would be
good if you laid off the meat for a while," Nick said. The boys and their
parents went to the barbeque party and didn't eat meat. They felt surprisingly
good!
67. Food from Outside
Vicky works at Eleven Men, a cafe that serves coffee and pastries. She does
not really like her job, but it gets the bills paid. One of the rules at the cafe is
not to bring food from other restaurants into the cafe. Vicky greeted one of
the customers. She noticed that the customer had something from Panda
Express. However, Vicky didn't say anything because she didn't think it was a
big deal.
Vicky's boss, Angelica, called her over. "Vicky, you need to tell her about
our rule about food from other places," she said. Vicky nodded and went
over to the customer. "Hi, I'm sorry, but you cannot have food from other
restaurants here," Vicky said. "But it's not like I'm not ordering from you
guys. I just want something to drink with my meal," the customer said. "You
can come in after you finish your food. I'm sorry, I don't make the
rules," Vicky said.
The customer was furious. He got up and knocked the table and chairs
down. "This is a terrible cafe!" he said. All the other customers and
employees stared at him. The angry customer left and wrote an angry
review on the cafe. The owners of Eleven Men decided to change the rule so
that people could bring in food from other places if they still buy something
from them.
68. A Hot Risk
It is 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Los Angeles, California today. Toby had made
plans to go hiking today. His mom told him not to go because it was too
hot. Toby still wanted to go. Toby and his friend drove up to the hiking
trail. When they got out of the car, they felt the
hotness immediately. "Toby, I'm starting to sweat already," his friend
said. "You'll be fine, just drink water," Toby said.
As they started walking, they noticed that the plants were all brown. They all
died! There were not a lot of people hiking either. Toby's friend started to put
sunscreen on. "Want some?" he asked. Toby said, "I don't get
burned." "Well, suit yourself," his friend said. As they continued walking, the
trail was getting steeper and steeper. "Hey Bryan, remember that one
time your mom hiked with us?" Toby asked. It was completely silent. Toby
turned around. Bryan was on the ground! He had fainted.
Toby called 911. When they came, they told Toby that Bryan fainted from
the heat. "You shouldn't be out on a day like this," the emergency response
team said. Toby rode with Bryan to the hospital. Toby even sat beside
Bryan as he was unconscious. An hour later, Bryan was up. Toby hugged
him. "You're totally red!" Bryan said. Toby looked in the mirror and saw
that his face was sunburnt.
69. Every Day is Your Last
Kathy did the same thing every day, and she didn't mind too much. She
wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning, eats cereal, goes to school, and then goes
home. She has a few friends, but she doesn't hang out with them outside of
school. Kathy usually just reads books and watches TV shows when she has
free time.
Kathy was walking to school as she usually does. All of a sudden, a car hit
her! Kathy was knocked out with blood everywhere. She went to the
hospital, and her family and friends visited her. The doctor told them that
Kathy was miraculously alive. Even though she was hurt pretty badly, she
was perfectly fine. Kathy's parents and friends kissed Kathy. Kathy felt very
lucky. She decided that she would live like every day was her last.
Every day, she tried to do something meaningful, and every day, she wrote in
a diary. The day after getting discharged from the hospital, Kathy tried a new
ice cream flavor. She usually gets vanilla, but she tried chocolate fudge and
loved it. She also went skydiving. At school, Kathy started joining more
clubs. In a weird way, she was glad she got hit by a car.
70. Planning a Surprise Party
Drake, Minnie, and Maribel have been best friends since they were four years
old. They were inseparable. They had a lot of inside jokes, a secret meeting
place, and friendship bracelets. They were very exclusive, too. They didn't
want to include other people in their group. It would be too hard.
Maribel went to a Thai restaurant with her family. She saw Drake and
Minnie having dinner together! Why would they have dinner without her? It
looked like they liked each other more than friends. Minnie was laughing and
flipping her hair. Drake touched Minnie's hand. Maribel was upset. If they
started dating, she would be out of the group.
At school, Maribel confronted Drake and Minnie about it. "So, when were
you going to tell me you two are dating?" Maribel said. Drake and
Minnie nervously looked at each other. "We're not dating! We never
would," Drake said. "I saw you two at the restaurant last night," Maribel
said. "Well, we didn't want to tell you, but we were planning a surprise
party for you. That's why we didn't invite you to eat with us," Minnie
said. Maribel felt bad that she ruined the surprise.
71. A New Look
Laura always had really long hair. It went all the way down to her back. It
was difficult to maintain. It took her 20 minutes to wash her hair. It was also
hard for her to exercise since her hair was always flying around
everywhere. Laura decided to cut her hair all the way to her ear. She
wanted very short hair. She also wanted to donate her hair to cancer
patients. Laura always felt strongly about cancer. Her mom died from breast
cancer.
The hair stylist asked Laura if she was sure that she wanted to cut her
hair. Laura nodded. When the hair stylist was finished, Laura looked down to
the floor. There was so much hair! Laura couldn't wait to go to school and
show off her new look. When Laura met up with her friends, they looked
shocked. "What do you think?" she asked. Her friends were silent. "It looks
good," one of them said. He was lying.
During lunch time, Laura overheard one of the mean girls say that no guy
would ever want to date her because of her manly hair cut. Laura was
hurt, but she didn't care, because she knew that she cut her hair for a good
cause.
72. Making the Boss Angry
Zoe hated her boss Justin, who thought he was better than everyone just
because he went to Harvard. He proudly hung up his diploma in his
office. Zoe knew that she was smart and capable, but she could never rise
up with Justin as her boss. She knew she had to work somewhere else. Zoe
submitted her letter of resignation.
She went into Justin's office to talk. There were pictures of himself all over
the walls. There was a picture of him modelling a suit, a picture of
him meeting the mayor, and more. Zoe laughed. "Something funny?" Justin
asked. Zoe shook her head. "Anyways, I was wondering why you decided to
quit. You have worked here for six years and have been doing well," Justin
said.
"I just feel that it's time to move on to bigger things," Zoe said. "Oh, so this
company is not good enough for you?" Justin asked. "To be honest, I
just don't like the way you run this company," Zoe said. Justin turned
red with anger. He hit his desk and started tearing down all the pictures on
the walls. He left Zoe in his office and slammed the door on his way out. Zoe
just laughed.
73. Cash Only
Eduardo went to a restaurant. It was a "hole in the wall," meaning it wasn't a
nice place. The restaurant was known for having delicious, authentic
Japanese food. All the employees there were related to each
other. Sometimes the service was slow, but that's because all the food is made
fresh. The cooks make the food only when the customer orders it.
Eduardo sat down. The table was dirty, but Eduardo didn't mind. The server
asked him what he wanted to order. Eduardo ordered a salmon roll. It came
out in fifteen minutes. Eduardo took his first bite. It was delicious. When the
check came out, Eduardo put his credit card down. The server told him the
place was "cash only." Eduardo asked if he could go to the nearest bank. The
server said that he couldn't trust him. Eduardo swore he would come
back. The server still didn't let him leave.
Eduardo first called his sister to help him. His sister was at work, so she
couldn't come until night time. Eduardo called his best friend Mason. Mason
was in the area, so he said okay. Mason came down and paid for Eduardo's
meal.
74. First Day as a Tutor
Bethany decided that she would spend all the summer earning money as a
tutor. She put up flyers around elementary schools in her neighborhood. She
was offering lessons in Spanish, French, and Italian. Bethany grew
up travelling the world, so she knew how to speak a lot of languages. She
would charge her customers $25 per hour. Someone called Bethany. It was a
girl asking for lessons in Italian.
Bethany drove down to the girl's house on Saturday. The student lived in a
huge mansion! Bethany went inside the house and introduced herself. "I'm
Megan," the girl said. Bethany first started teaching her the basics, like how
to introduce yourself and saying "thank you." Megan had a hard
time pronouncing the words. Bethany repeated them until she could say them
correctly.
Megan started to get upset and blamed Bethany for teaching her
incorrectly. Bethany was insulted. She had been speaking and writing in
Italian since she was four years old. "Megan, why don't you take a short
break and come back to this?" Bethany suggested. Hopefully that would calm
her down. "Why don't you take a long break and get out of here?" Megan
said. Bethany left her house, she didn't need to take insults from a teenager.
75. No Need to Help Others
Kimberly was very selfish. She only cared about herself and never did any
favors for anyone. A classmate of hers asked for her chemistry notes, and she
said no. The teacher asked her to read a section of the textbook out loud, and
she said no. The principal asked her a piece of trash on the floor, and she said
no. The principal called Kimberly into his office. He asked why she was so
disobedient. Kimberly said that she didn't feel the need to help others when
no one has ever helped her.
"What do you mean no one helped you?" the principal asked. Kimberly
explained how she never met her mom and dad. Her dad passed away before
she was born and her mom died while giving birth. Kimberly was in foster
care, and her foster parents were not the nicest people. They provided
food and a home for her, but that was it. The principal felt sorry for
her. Kimberly asked him not to feel sorry for her because she liked that she
was independent.
76. Pay Me Back
Kris had owed Penny $100 since last year. Kris used the $100 to buy printer
ink. He was in a tough financial situation, but really needed printer ink to
print his twenty-page paper. Penny wanted him to pay her back
immediately, but it never happened. He always had some excuses. He would
say that he had the money, but he forgot it. He would say that his boss hadn't
given him his paycheck yet. For a long time, Penny forgot about the
money Kris owed her.
Penny remembered when she and Kris went to a restaurant together. Seeing
him take out his wallet made her remember. "Hey, do you have $100? You
still owe me," Penny said. "I thought I paid you back already," Kris
said. Penny laughed. "Can I give it to you tomorrow?" Kris said. Penny knew
that if she said yes, she would never get it. Penny said no, and made him go
all the way to the bank to get $100.
Kris went to the bank and asked to take out $100. Something was wrong with
his account though. The banker told him that there was nothing in his
account! Someone had pretended to be him and took all his money. Penny
was never going to get her $100 back.
77. Washing Dishes
Apartment 103 had a dish problem. The sink was completely full of dirty
dishes from two weeks ago. Nobody in the apartment wanted to wash their
dishes. Also no one remembered what dishes were theirs. It was getting out
of control. There were flies flying around the dishes, and there was even
some mold growing on the dishes.
Everyone in the apartment knew that it was a problem, but no one wanted to
do anything about it. Dianne called all the girls in the apartment into the
living room. "Guys, we need to do something about the dishes," Dianne
said. "I don't have time to do any of the dishes," Clary said. "We all don't
have time," Dianne angrily said. "Why don't we just split up the dishes in
four? That way it's all fair," Ella suggested. "But that's not fair, because some
of us don't use as many dishes as others," Katy said.
There was a knock at the apartment door. Clary opened it. It was their
neighbor Eli. "I couldn't help, but overheard your argument. I was thinking
maybe I could wash all your dishes for $40," he said. The girls would have to
pay $10 each. They decided it was worth it. If Eli washed it, none of them
would have to deal with it.
78. Doing Something Good Can Be Bad
Greg always felt strongly about the homeless population. He believed
that even if a person was homeless, he or she deserved to be treated
fairly. There must have been something tragic in their lives that led them to
that path. He tried to help them in any way he could.
For Thanksgiving, Greg decided to go around his neighborhood giving
out free cooked turkeys. The homeless people were thankful to Greg. They
felt bad that they couldn't return the favor. Greg told them not to worry about
it. Greg also encouraged the homeless people to talk to each other so they
wouldn't feel so lonely.
Greg saw that two police officers were approaching him. He wondered what
they wanted from him. The police officers told Greg that he couldn't give
out free food without a license because it was a health concern. Greg
thought that was ridiculous since it was clear that the turkey was fine. The
police officers told Greg that if he gave out food again, he would be thrown
in jail. Greg didn't realize that doing something good could actually be bad.
79. Facing a Setback
Carter was known among his friend group to be the competitive one. He saw
everything as a competition, from having the nicest car to finishing math
homework the fastest. It was a good thing and a bad thing. It was good
because he accomplished a lot. He always tried his hardest and aimed to be
the best. It was bad because it made him stressed.
Carter had just taken a difficult English test. A few days later, he got his
grade back. He received a C. He was in shock. He had never gotten less than
A before. He asked his friends what they got on their tests. They didn't want
to show him because they thought he wanted to show off. "Carter, you make
us feel bad when you ask us what we got," said one of his friends. Carter did
not want to admit that he got a low grade.
After class ended, Carter went up to the teacher. He asked Ms. Green what
the average grade in the class was. Ms. Green said the average grade was
B. Carter was extremely upset. For the first time, his grade was below
average. Ms. Green told him not to worry and that even the smartest
people would face setbacks.
80. July 4th Plans
The Fourth of July was a big deal to the Griffins. Every year, they would
have a huge celebration at their house with their friends and
family. First, everyone would watch a movie. Then, they would eat hot
dogs for lunch. Afterwards, they would play games. Some of the games they
played together included tug of war, flag football, and trust exercises. After
playing games, they ate dinner. Dinner was usually barbeque ribs, corn, and
green beans.
During dinner, the Griffins would talk about life updates and current
events. The big news this year was that Lilah Griffin was engaged to the
CEO of a world famous company. Lilah Griffin was going to be rich. She
was going to move to Beverly Hills. Her uncle asked if she was going to quit
her job. Lilah said she would not because she would get bored staying at
home.
After dinner, the Griffins would watch the fireworks. They had a good
view of the fireworks. This year, they decided to make their own fireworks,
too. The fireworks came in a lot of different colors, like blue, red, and
purple. The fireworks weren't as big as the ones at the park, but they were
still nice.
81. Body Image Problems
It was summer time. Everyone was going to the beach because it was too
hot in the city. Ellen and Catherine wanted to go to the beach, but their friend
Macy did not want to go to the beach. It wasn't that she didn't like the
breeze or the sand. In fact, she loved the beach. She just did not like that she
would have to wear a bathing suit. She felt uncomfortable showing a lot of
skin, because she was a little bit overweight.
Ellen and Catherine reassured her that she looked fine. "Why don't you just
wear a one-piece swimsuit?" Ellen said. "Because it still sticks to my skin and
makes my tummy bulge," Macy said. Ellen and Catherine felt bad that Macy
felt insecure about her body. They told Macy that a lot of people at the
beach were not in the best shape, and nobody would even pay attention to
her.
Ellen and Catherine made a list of fun things to do at the beach and gave it to
Macy to try to convince her to go. "You don't even have to wear a bathing
suit if you don't want to! You can just walk around the beach," Catherine
said. Macy decided that her friends were right, and drove herself and her
friends to the beach.
82. Picking a Team
Miles loved playing sports. He grew up playing basketball and tennis. He
even wanted to play both sports in college and eventually become a
professional. It was also really important for him to win, too.
In physical education class, the teacher wanted Miles and another student
Antonio to each pick four other guys to play a round of basketball. Roland
was in the same physical education class. Miles knew that Roland wanted
him to pick him first to avoid embarrassment. Every time students picked
teams, Roland was always last. He was on the chubbier side, clumsy, and got
tired easily. Miles felt bad, but he also did not want Roland on his team.
There were two people left, Roland and Tom. Both of them were not
athletic, but Tom was a little better, because he was taller. Miles felt
conflicted. He knew that if he did not pick Roland, he would be really
sad. What was more important, winning or friendship? Miles decided
that winning was more important and picked Tom. Roland was so
shocked that he ran away to the bathroom to cry. All the guys laughed at
him. Miles followed him into the bathroom to talk to him. Roland told him to
get out. Miles continued to play basketball and ended up winning. It wasn't
worth Roland's tears though.
83. Fighting Friends
Roland and Miles have been best friends since 9th grade. They bonded
over their common interest in video games. They would go to each other's
house and play video games after they finished their homework. They did
everything together, from eating breakfast to sleeping over at each other's
place. Right now, however, they were not speaking to each other. Miles did
not pick Roland to be on his basketball team, and Roland was upset. It has
been two weeks already.
Miles has been trying to make it up to him almost every day. He made him
breakfast in the morning, offered to drive him to school, and offered to carry
his textbooks. Roland just kept pushing him away. Miles didn't know what he
could do. Miles directly asked him one day and Roland said, "Nothing you
do can make up for what you did." Miles was sad, and he gave up.
Now, Roland and Miles are about to graduate from high school. It has been a
year since they talked. On the last day of school, Roland goes up to
Miles. "Hey, I really miss you, to be honest. Want to play video games after
the graduation ceremony?" Roland asks. Miles smiles and says
yes. Sometimes, you can't fix your mistakes right away. Friendship takes time
to fix.
84. Shopping Addiction
Janet has a shopping addiction. She loves buying clothes, school
supplies, and electronics. If she is not shopping in stores, she is
shopping online. She considers shopping as her hobby. Janet often
shops when she is sad, because she feels like shopping gives her
power. Because she shops so much, her house was getting cluttered.
Her mom and dad restricted her access to money by closing her debit and
credit card accounts. They also stopped giving her an allowance. This did not
stop Janet from shopping. In fact, things got even worse. Janet started
shoplifting. She was really good at it, too. For clothes, she would
just/span> go into the fitting room and put them in her bag. Fitting rooms did
not have surveillance cameras, so that was why she could do that. School
supplies were even easier to steal. Janet just looked around her and put the
pens in her pocket. Electronics were difficult to steal, so she never tried.
Janet saw a necklace she liked. As usual, she went to the fitting room and
placed it in her bag. When she exited the store, the alarm went off. Janet was
shocked as that had never happened to her. An employee checked her
bag and pulled out the necklace from her bag. It turned out that there was a
security tag.
85. The Hard Truth
Harold loved to draw. His love for drawing started when he was five years
old. He went to a museum when he was five years old and was fascinated by
all the drawings. His mom told him that maybe someday his art would be up
on the walls. Since then, he had drawn something every day. However, there
was one big problem. Harold was not good at drawing. He wasn't terrible, but
he was definitely average.
Harold is now 10 years old, and for five years his parents and friends have
been telling him how great he is. Harold believed them. At school, he saw a
flyer for a drawing competition among 5th graders. The theme
was environmental awareness. The 1st place winner would get $100. Harold
was super excited when he saw the flyer. It was a chance for him to show off
his skills.
Harold told his parents about the competition. His mom and dad
nervously looked at each other. They didn't want him to find out that he was
actually not a good artist. They told Harold what they really thought of his
artwork. "So you don't think I'm good?" he asked. They shook their
heads. Harold was so upset that he tore up his art. He locked himself in his
room. At night, his parents went to his room to give him his dinner. "Son, we
feel really bad. We think it's great that you want to keep drawing, so your
mother and I decided to sign you up for art lessons," Harold's dad
said. Harold ran up to his parents and gave them a hug.
86. No Internet Connection
Jacob had to write a ten-page paper on Abraham Lincoln by tomorrow. He
hadn't even started yet. He always procrastinated, but he always got good
grades, too. Jacob poured himself a cup of coffee and drank the whole
thing. He opened up his laptop. Then, he opened up a blank
document. Next, he opened up the Internet browser. He had to look up
information on Abraham Lincoln.
When he clicked the "Enter" button to look up information, it said there
was an Internet connection problem! He checked his router. It looked
fine. He double checked if he typed "Abraham Lincoln" incorrectly. He tried
turning his wi-fi on and off. It still didn't work. Jacob started to sweat. He
knew his teacher wouldn't give him a deadline extension. Jacob called
customer service and explained his problem.
The person on the other line gave him suggestions, but nothing
worked. Jacob talked to the person for about an hour and then gave up. He
was upset that he wasted an hour. It was already 9 p.m., and he had to turn in
his paper at 8 a.m. Jacob had to turn this around. He went to the
library, picked out ten books on Lincoln and used the library computer. He
finished writing at 2:00 a.m. He ended up getting an A on the paper!
87. A Stolen Bike
Beatrice rode her bike everywhere. Most of her classmates drove around the
neighborhood. Beatrice's family couldn't afford to get her a car, so she
decided to take her driving test later. She doesn't mind too much. Biking was
fun and it was good exercise.
On her way home from school, Beatrice stopped by the supermarket. She
forgot her bike lock. She thought about what to do, and decided to just leave
the bike outside. No one was going to steal her bike, she thought. She went
inside to buy milk. When she exited the store, her bike was gone! She was
going crazy. She looked all around the market just to see if the thief was still
nearby. Hours went by, and she still couldn't find it.
Beatrice walked back home with the gallon of milk in her hand. She looked
up and her bike was in front of her house. She was surprised. How did it end
up at home? She asked her family how it got there. It turned out that her
brother took it as a prank.
88. Pretty and Dumb
Aria was always the pretty girl at school. She had voluminous, and curly
hair. She was tall and thin. Because she was pretty, her classmates
assumed she was dumb. Aria was not the smartest girl, but she wasn't the
dumbest either. She wanted to prove people wrong by enrolling in Advanced
Placement English Literature. On the first day of class, people were
shocked to see her there. The teacher even said that she was in the wrong
class. Aria had to show the teacher her class schedule.
The teacher assigned the students a passage to read and analyze. The teacher
put them in groups of four. Aria's group just ignored Aria and analyzed the
passage. Aria tried to talk, but they kept ignoring her and cutting her
off. Being sick of the poor treatment, Aria finally yelled, "I'm trying to talk
here!" "Nobody wants to listen to you. What you have to say is probably
dumb anyways," one of her group members said.
At the end of the class, Aria told the teacher she was dropping. Ms. Sanchez
said, "Don't drop, because then you're proving them right. Show them you're
capable of using your brain. Share your thoughts out loud in class, and work
on getting As on your essays." Ms. Sanchez was right. She would never get
rid of her "dumb" reputation if she dropped the class.
89. Too Cute
Mia was 4 feet and 11 inches tall, with big cheeks and a high-pitched
voice. Even though she was 22 years old, a lot of people thought she was
still in high school. People still always called her cute. It was a nice thing to
hear, but it came with downsides, too. A lot of times, Mia wasn't taken
seriously. She just graduated from university and was doing a lot of
interviews for jobs in the engineering field.
When Mia introduced herself in an interview, the interviewer laughed. "Little
girl, you know you have to be at least 18 to apply here, right?" the
interviewer asked. "I know, I am 22 years old," Mia said. The interviewer
apologized and continued to ask her questions about her work experience and
interest in the job. Mia thought the interview went pretty well.
After a week, Mia didn't hear from the interviewer. She decided to call. She
asked if she got hired. The interviewer said she was not. Mia asked why. The
interviewer said it was because her co-workers wouldn't take her
seriously. He also said that the company needed to have employees who
looked mature. Mia was upset5 that her appearance was such a big
disadvantage to her.
90. A Pet Mouse
Betty was not like most kids, who had dogs or cats or fish as pets. Betty had a
mouse. She liked mice because they were small, easy to take care of, and
cute. Betty was probably the only one who thought mice were
cute. Whenever her friends came over to her house, they were disgusted by
her mouse. The mouse was male; his name was Augustus. Augustus was the
name of the founder of the Roman empire.
When Betty went to feed Augustus, he was nowhere to be found. He
wasn't under his little dome or running on his wheel. How did he get
out? After hours of looking around the house, Betty put up signs around the
neighborhood. Her neighbor ripped it off. "Hey! Why did you do that?" Betty
asked. "I lost my dog, so I'm going to put my sign up. Besides, no one cares
about a mouse. Someone probably ran over it with a car already," her
neighbor said.
Betty didn't let what her neighbor said discourage her. She continued putting
up "Lost Mouse" signs. Betty then heard a scream. "Ew, it's a
mouse!" someone cried out loud. Betty followed the scream and it led her to
the gas station, where she found Augustus. She grabbed him and hugged him
tightly.
91. A Scary Story for the Night
Steve was a counselor at Camp Lafton. His job was to take care of the kids at
night, teach them how to swim, and make sure they weren't getting into
trouble. At night, the kids kept talking. They were supposed to be quiet an
hour ago. Steve had a hard time stopping them from talking. He was getting
tired of telling them to be quiet.
Steve had an idea. "Hey, do you guys want to hear a scary story about this
cabin?" he asked. They got excited and started jumping up and
down. "Okay, I will tell it. You have to be quiet, so you can hear me
though," Steve said. The kids nodded. The story was an old camp legend. It
was about the twins who lived in the same cabin as they did. One of the
twins mysteriously fainted while the other one fell through the hole of the
floor and was never to be seen again. The twin who fainted was in a coma.
When Steve finished the story, the kids were scared. They couldn't sleep and
some of the kids even cried. The kids were definitely quiet though. He didn't
think they would get that scared.
92. Singing Competition (1)
Teresa was 25 years old and trying to get a record deal. She wanted to sing
pop songs and have her name known all over the world. She had a great vocal
range. In fact, she can even sing opera. Making it in the music industry was
tough. It took a lot of good luck and connections to get a record deal. One
time, Teresa came close to signing a deal, but it fell through when her
manager passed away.
Teresa saw an advertisement for a singing competition on TV. It was
called The Next Superstar. The show was going to be on a major network, so
millions would be watching. Teresa first had to sing in front of the three
judges in Los Angeles. She bought a plane ticket immediately. She always
wanted to go to Los Angeles since there wasn't really anything to do in
Maine.
Teresa arrived in Los Angeles and met the three judges. They sat at a long
rectangular table. The judge on the left end of the table was a famous rock
singer of a band. The judge in the middle was the CEO of Harness Music
Records. The judge on the right end of the table was a vocal coach to many
famous singers. Teresa was a little nervous.
93. Singing Competition (2)
Teresa just arrived in Los Angeles to audition for The Next Superstar. This
was her last chance to make it big. One of the judges asked where she was
from and what her life had been like. Teresa said she was from Maine. She
then said that she had been singing since she was 5 years old and had been
struggling to pay the bills.
Teresa then sang an original song. The judges were impressed that she wrote
a song. They liked how high her voice could go and they allowed her into the
next round. Since Teresa made it to the next round, she got to stay at the
hotel for free and eat delicious food. Teresa met other singers, and they were
all really good. They picked 100 out of 100,000 contestants. She was
competing with the best.
Teresa sang a Mariah Carey song for the second round. The judges said she
was good, but it wasn't great. They recommended that she sing an opera
song since her voice could go really high. Teresa sang an Italian opera
song and the crowd went wild. Since then, Teresa decided to change her
singing style. Singing opera made her stand out.
94. A Jealous Girlfriend
Owen and Donna/span> had been dating for about three months. Everything
was going well until Donna saw Owen hugging her best friend,
Leanne. Owen and Leanne barely knew each other, so why were
they hugging? After school, Owen and Donna met in their usual place. Owen
tried to kiss her, but Donna turned away. "What's wrong?" he asked. She told
him that she saw him hugging Leanne.
"She was crying! She got a really bad grade on her biology test, so I was just
trying to be nice," Owen said. "Yeah, but you didn't have to hug her," Donna
said. Owen couldn't believe that Donna was that jealous. "It's really not a big
deal," Owen said. "It's a big deal to me! Other people were even telling
me that it looked like you guys were a couple," Donna said. Owen rolled his
eyes.
"So what would you have done if you were me?" Owen asked. "I would have
just talked to her and give her a pat on the back," Donna said. "Okay, now I
know what to do next time. Can we just make up?" Owen asked. Donna
nodded her head, she was tired of arguing. The two of them went to get
lunch and do homework together.
95. First Time at Disneyland
Disneyland is an iconic place. There are only a few Disney resorts in the
world. There is one in California, Florida, Japan, France, and Hong
Kong. The one in Florida was the largest. Kids, teens, and adults all like
Disneyland. There is something at Disneyland for everyone, which is like any
other amusement park.
Sunny had never been to Disneyland. She remembered when everyone was
talking about Disneyland in her 2nd grade. They were talking about the rides,
fireworks, and scenery there. Sunny felt so left out of the conversation. Her
parents never took her because it was too expensive. One time, her
friend invited her to go, but Sunny did not want to spend so much money at
one time. Now Sunny was 18 and had a job as a cashier. She wasn't making a
lot, but she saved just over $800 in her bank account.
Sunny invited her closest friends to go to Disneyland with her. They went on
a Thursday, so the lines were shorter. Sunny immediately fell in love with
Disneyland. It was a dream that came true. It was everything her friends
said it would be. Sunny went on almost all the rides and took pictures with all
the Disney mascots. At the end of the day, she and her friends watched the
fireworks.
96. Eye Problems
Stella was practically blind without her glasses. Her family was not
blessed when it came to vision. Everyone in her family wore glasses, contact
lenses, or had their vision corrected. Stella had to wear thick glasses because
her prescription was 20/100. This means that she sees at 20 feet what a
normal person sees at 100 feet. Stella felt like people who had 20/20
vision didn't understand how lucky they were.
A common problem Stella had was not knowing where her glasses
were. There was a time when she knocked her glasses off the desk and spent
an hour looking for them. Another problem was that glasses just made
her look more nerdy. Stella slept over at her friend's house and had to drive
home the next morning. When she opened her car door, she realized that she
wasn't wearing her glasses! It must have slipped her mind.
Stella knocked on her friend's door. There was no one inside! Her friend had
just left. Stella couldn't drive back home. She would definitely get in a car
accident. Stella waited outside her friend's doorstep. Eventually, she fell
asleep. When her friend came back, Stella was too tired to drive, so she just
stayed at her friend's house again.
97. A Phone App
Ralph is a waiter at a taco restaurant. He likes his job because the
customers are really friendly; his co-workers are funny; the pay is pretty
good. He does not want to work at the taco restaurant for the rest of his life
though. He wants to use his money to start his own company. He wants
to create a phone app that allows people to talk to friends internationally.
Ralph has all the plans for his app, but he just needs the money. If the app
goes big, he could make millions. The people who came up with apps like
Snapchat and Groupme are extremely successful. Apps are a modern
invention. It's pretty amazing what one good idea can do.
Ralph notices a customer come in and serves him. Ralph compliments the
man's watch. "Thank you! The truth is, I hate wearing it, but I need it because
I have such a hectic schedule," he says. Ralph asks what he does for a
living. The man explains that he buys apps from young entrepreneurs. Ralph
jumps up and down with excitement. He tells the man about his app. He likes
Ralph's idea and sets up a business conference meeting with him.
98. A Stay-at-home Dad
Justin was a stay-at-home dad. That means he takes care of the kid and deals
with the housework. His wife is the one who goes out and works. A couple
years ago, Justin worked as a teacher. He loved his job. Then, his wife
Terri got pregnant. At first, the couple both wanted to work and get a
babysitter. Eventually, Justin thought it was best if he stayed at home and
took care of their kid. He wasn't getting that much money as a
teacher. Also, he wanted to have control over how his kid was going to be
raised.
Justin liked being a stay-at-home dad. He loved seeing his kid learn things
from him. He wanted to make sure his kid grew up right. Justin made sure to
read to his son, take him to open areas, and give him healthy food. The
biggest problem with being a stay-at-home dad was the comments he
got from his guy friends. They made fun of him for doing housework. At
first, the comments bothered him, but they're not a big deal anymore.
Justin does miss teaching though. He is waiting for the day he can teach at
school again. He is planning to go back to the job after his kid turns 13 or
so. He thinks that is a good time for his son to do his own thing.
99. A Sweepstakes Winner
Janet entered a sweepstakes where she could win a free trip to Hawaii. She
read about it from the back of a cereal box. She always wanted to go to
Hawaii, so she was excited when she saw the ad. She realized that a lot of
people were going to enter the sweepstakes, but something in her felt
confident she would win. She was so confident that she started looking up
places to go to in Hawaii.
The winner of the sweepstakes was going to be announced on the Herrio
Cereal website. Janet went on the website and saw her name on the home
page. She won! Janet was so excited that she played a Hawaiian song and
danced to it. She read the details on the website and found out that she could
invite one person to the trip.
Janet didn't know who to invite. She wanted to invite someone she could
spend hours with. She wanted to invite someone who would be willing to do
adventurous activities. She wanted to invite someone who would appreciate
Hawaii. Janet thought about it and decided to take her mom.
100. Name Change
Diego did not like his name. It was a Spanish name, but Diego didn't even
speak Spanish. People always assumed he did though. In fact, Diego
wasn't even Hispanic! Diego also didn't like it because it didn't sound
cool. Diego wanted to change his name to something like Brandon or Brock.
Diego told his parents that he wanted to change his name. His parents were
furious. "This is the name we gave you. By changing it, you're going against
our wishes," his mom said. His dad said, "Why don't you just tell people to
call you something else? Don't legally change it though." Diego felt that if he
did that, people would just ignore him and continue calling him Diego.
Diego tried what his parents suggested. At school, he told his friends and
teachers to call him Brock. His friends laughed at him and asked him
why. His teachers were okay with it, but they kept calling him
Diego accidentally. Since Diego was already 13, it was hard for people who
had known him for a long time to call him by any other name.